DxD: Vivus Codex
by TyriusVilliers
Summary: For a teenager who plays video games and watches anime on a regular basis, Douglas wasn't exactly what one would consider a Hero. But, what if his life of leisure was nothing but a ruse? What if he was destined to become one of the greatest Heroes of all time? With the Lady of Luck by his side, he might just blindly believe a woman who says "This world isn't real." Eventual GAMER.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome, to the Rewrite of "DXD: One Gamer's Tale", otherwise known as "DxD: Vivus Codex"!**

 **Whoo, boy~! First of all, thanks to everyone for being so supportive, as much as internet people can be, with my decision! It's not like I thought that people would be spitting at me, saying "You fucking hypocrite!" and all that jazz, but it's like EVERY FREAKING PERSON WAS POSITIVE!**

 **Was my other story _that bad_ ~?**

 **Who am I kidding~!?**

 **I'm not quite sure how else I can delay the announcements before the Chapter anymore, so here ya go!**

 **...**

 **Oh, wait!**

 _ **"Reticulating Spines..."**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** I OWN IT, I FREAKING OWN IT NOWwww...no, I don't. Highschool DxD is the property of...well, I'm not looking it up right now. It belongs to some professional author who seems to like pissing everyone off with Rias Gremory's personality and general existence. I'm not quite sure about this, but there might also be a publishing company out there that can call dibs on it, so yeah...

However, what I **do** own, is any and all OC(s) that you may or may not see in this story, as well as any original story idea that is used in this particular story! Besides that, and a mountain of smoked bacon, I'm fuckin' broke!

* * *

 **WARNING:** Whilst this story will be similar to the last one, I've learned my lesson as far as dark topics are involved. Because I'm taking the story seriously now, I will warn you of what you can expect:  
 **Blood and Gore** will be happening.  
 **Extreme Profanity** is basically my calling card.  
 **Adult Situations** will most likely happen later on in the story.  
 **Character Death** will be a thing.

* * *

 **Guide for how to read this Chapter (since I still haven't fully decided on how I want to format this story):**

"Words." - Talking. Anything in _italics_ is stressed and/or important. If, for some reason, I mistakenly use **emboldening** on a word in this fashion again in the story, please leave a Review telling me. I'm so used to it from my last story that it might slip through, and I'm genuinely trying to proofread these damn things.

 _'Stuff.'_ \- Thinking. I'll be using apostrophe marks to enclose them, and so like with the bold words whilst talking, please tell me if I mistakenly use quotation marks again.

Everything else. - Descriptions.

*sounds* - Shorthand descriptions of sound that I needlessly still explain in more detail anyways, because I'm a B-Grade author of amateur fiction.

[Terms] - Terms and titles and really just that odd shit that isn't normally used in conversation.

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – The Date of Change (Pt. 1)**

* * *

There once was a boy named Issei Hyoudou. At first glance, he seemed to be nothing but a trivial existence. Despite having a kind heart, his eccentric worldly desires set him apart from his peers and friends, and even caused a large majority of the people around him to spurn his existence.

However, that changed one day when he was killed, only to be resurrected by a beautiful savior. From then on, he became their loyal servant. Over time, he found that he had a great power inside of him, to which he began to work incredibly hard in order to learn how to utilize it for the sake of protecting his loved ones.

Over the course of a single year, this boy became one of the most prominent young figures in the world of the supernatural, staring down both Gods and Dragons whenever he needed to. Because of his strength, he was beset by enemy after enemy, crisis after crisis and plot after plot.

However, with his overwhelming power and an ironclad will, he overcame every obstacle he faced with his friends and loved ones by his side. Despite a few close calls, he never failed in the absolute mission he gave himself to protect everything he cared about.

This...

...is _not his story_!

* * *

Sitting on a simple metal chair behind a long metal table inside of a small room that was lit by a single bright-burning light-bulb attached to a wire dangling from the ceiling, was a young man.

This young man looked to be in his mid-teenage years, with white skin, short golden-blond hair and deep blue eyes. He wore a thin light-blue hoodie over a somewhat baggy white t-shirt and blue denim jeans that covered up his slim physique. On his feet were a pair of black sneakers. His hands were currently behind the back of the chair, shackled together by a pair of steel handcuffs that were connected to a bolt in the floor by a metal chain.

Sitting across from him on the other side of the table in a similar chair, was a bald man in his thirties with tan skin and green eyes. He wore a white dress shirt and black slacks over his athletic body with a pair of black dress shoes on his feet. At his waist, was a pistol in a holster.

On the table in front of the bald man, was an open manila folder that had a stack of paper on the inside that was filled to the brim with different kinds of information, as well as a mug shot-style photo of the blond in front of him.

"Let's see...Douglas A. Roland. 15 years old, and a sophomore at Vancity High with a 3.8 GPA and on the road to graduating early. Except..." the bald man recounted some facts, reading off through a few of the papers in front of him before slipping his hand underneath the flap of the manila folder...

*SLAM*

...and closed the folder shut in an instant as he stared hard at the young man who flinched at the sudden sound.

"...despite sounding like an exceptional young man, this little guy seems to have gained a sincere problem with being a good boy when he's placed in front of a computer. _Hacking_ into the security camera network for your school...let's hear it. Why?" the man asked in a frustrated tone, to which the young man sitting across from him just turned his eyes away.

"..." the young man, Douglas, stayed quiet in the face of the questioning.

*SLAM*

The bald-headed man roughly brought his clenched left fist down onto the table, causing Douglas to flinch again in his seat.

"Don't try the 'tough guy act' with me, you little punk. I've interrogated murderers, rapists and drug dealers that were sitting exactly where you're sitting, and they all broke down crying in the end. You ain't nothing, so stop your little fucking stage play." the man attempted to intimidate the blond, who just continued looking away from him and staying quiet.

"Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you, boy!" the man spoke in a louder voice as he roughly stood up, his metal chair screeching against the floor as he proceeded to tower over the blond.

Douglas didn't look at him, choosing to look towards the metal door to his left.

"Hey, little punk! I said, _look at me_!" the bald man shouted, angrily walking around the table until he was standing directly in Douglas's line of sight, bending over right over him. Douglas shifted his eyes again to the right, where on the wall was a big pane of what appeared to be black glass.

"Turn off the camera and microphone!" the bald man suddenly turned his head toward the window and ordered. Shortly after, the red light on a camera, that was sitting in one of the corners of the ceiling of the room, turned off.

Suddenly, the bald headed man's hand shot up and grabbed underneath Douglas's chin, before the man started to forcibly try to make Douglas look at him.

"You listen to me, kid. I don't care who the hell you think you are. When I ask you a fucking question, you answer me _immediately_. You always look me in the fucking eyes, and you never fucking disobey me. Do you hear me?" the bald man spoke through gritted teeth directly into Douglas's ear.

Douglas's eyes darted to his for an instant...before looking off in another direction.

"Why you little...!" the bald man sneered before drawing his free hand back...

...and clenching it into a fist.

* * *

 **2 Hours Later...**

In the early hours of the evening, in a small city nestled in the valley between two mountains, there was a police station near the southern part of the city.

Half-limping through the automatic opening doors of said police station, trailing behind another individual, Douglas exited the building and was greeted by a semi-warm breeze of wind.

His clothes somewhat disheveled, a few odd people who went to enter the police station as he left were taken aback by the swelling black right eye, the multiple small cuts still releasing small drops of blood, and the busted-up lips that he now possessed.

The person walking in front of him with an air of indignation in his step, was a man in his forties who was around half a foot taller than Douglas with a farmer's tan, short slicked-back black hair and blue eyes. His body was slim and skinny. He wore a red and black flannel jacket over a black t-shirt and blue denim jeans. On his feet were a pair of dark brown worker's boots that his pants were tucked into.

As the two of them walk over to a dark-blue two door pickup truck parked near the entrance, the person walking in front of Douglas turns around and stops.

"The fuck were you thinking, Doug? I _told_ you to be upfront with the police about this. After being _so good_ for _so long_ , you suddenly start acting up _now_? Not only that, but you went and got your ass beat the fuck up." the man spoke, his deep voice laced with annoyance and frustration.

Douglas, without looking at the man, just tried to limp right past him to get to the truck.

As he was passing by the older man, a tan hand gripped _hard_ onto his left bicep.

"Doug, you just fucking cost me nearly 2,000 dollars to keep this out of court, and to keep it off your record. You may get away with not saying anything to the police, but you ain't gonna get by your _Daddy_ like that." the man spoke, to which Douglas shifted his eyes over to the older man's.

 _'...Kenneth Roland...my father...'_ Douglas thought to himself, before purposefully looking towards the truck. Kenneth then scoffed.

"Fine. Fucking be that way, you little shit-stain!" the man exclaimed, breaking away from Douglas and opening up the driver's side door of the truck before hopping into the seat.

Closing the door and rolling down the window, the older man glared at Douglas.

"You wanna be like that, then you can fucking limp home. I may just lose my son tonight to a mugger, but if he don't wanna mind his Daddy, then good fucking riddance!" Kenneth shouted, rolling up the window before starting the truck and putting the truck into reverse.

Backing out of the parking space, he just gave a dirty look to the blond beat-up teenager standing lamely on the sidewalk. Once he was cleared of the other parked cars, he shifted the truck into gear before taking off out of the parking lot.

 _'There's absolutely no way...'_ Douglas thought, a surge of disbelief going through him as he started limping down the sidewalk in the direction the truck drove.

However, while the truck drove straight through an intersection, when Douglas came to it, he went _right..._

* * *

 **Douglas's House**

 **25 Minutes Later...**

As a dark blue pickup truck pulled up into the gravel driveway of a two-story house on the outskirts of the city, a woman looked through the window from her position on rather comfortable-looking reclining chair in the middle of a carpet-floored living room.

The woman was in her late forties, with brown hair tied into a bun and brown eyes. She had a somewhat pudgy figure, that was covered up slightly by the black sweatshirt and gray sweatpants she wore.

Across from her, mounted on the far wall, was a television playing a late-night drama that had been recorded on a DVR box that sat just below the TV on a pristine glass table.

Almost as soon as she saw the lack of a blond teenager in the passenger seat of the truck, she turned her head back around and went back to watching television.

Within a moment, a door to the outside world opened and closed. Shortly after, she saw Kenneth walk through a hallway and into the living room.

"You didn't give him a ride?" she asked, almost absentmindedly. Kenneth just gave a grunt.

"Nah. Little punk decided to go all silent on me. Think we should call Garth?" Kenneth spoke in almost a joking tone as he took his flannel jacket off and hung it on a coat rack on the wall of the living room. After that, he walked over to a separate chair that was identical to the woman's and sat down, basking in the comfiness of the seat.

"...do you think we need to? It seems a little risky, with him acting out...but, that would probably work out for the best. He'll know what to do. Even if we don't, we'll need to get him back here before midnight. With the law and everything..." the woman replied, her voice almost contemplative. Kenneth nodded.

"I'll do that here in a bit. Talking with the police is _exhausting."_ he complained as they proceeded to silently watch television together.

* * *

 **Back with Douglas**

 **1 Hour Later...**

Walking through the streets, the sun setting lower and lower behind a far-off mountain in the distance as he pushed through the pain, Douglas started getting towards the edge of the western side of the city.

Stopping at a particular dirt road that branched off from the street, he looked towards where the road led.

With paint chipping away from the exterior, there stood a run-down and almost abandoned-looking building. It's wooden exterior seemed to be missing pieces and chunks. There were small patches of grass around it in places, but it mostly stood in the center of a large dirt circle. Going up to the front entrance doors, was a staircase made of stone. There was a beat-up old black sign that stood near the dirt pathway. The white-colored words were hardly legible after so much lack of maintenance, but Douglas knew what it had said at one point.

"West Vancity Baptist Church...hard to imagine what the inside must be like." Douglas pondered aloud, before slowly trudging towards the small stone staircase.

Going up the stairs, he could faintly hear a soft tune being hummed by a melodious female voice coming from inside. Reaching the doors, he opened them up.

The inside wasn't much better than the outside, though it seemed more tolerable with its carpeted floors and protection from the elements. There were rows and rows of wooden pews lined up, all leading towards the raised floor where the alter was. Behind the alter, a dark-colored wooden podium stood. Above where the podium was, a gold-colored cross was emblazoned into an overhang for the congregation to look at during prayer. There were a few paintings on the wall depicting holy scenes, but they were partially shredded and generally seemed to be left there due to no longer having any real value after being tarnished so much.

And, sitting on top of the altar, was a fair-skinned woman who looked to be in her twenties. Her hair was long and so white that it seemed to cast its own ethereal glow around her. Her eyes were a vibrant green and seemed to contain a spark of playfulness in them. Her slim body possessed amazing curves that filled out her long sleeveless silken dress of white with artistic and flowing veins of golden embroidery all over it. All over her left arm, were mostly black tattoos of various types of currency that possessed small amounts of different colored ink in places. There were depictions of coins, paper bills, bars of precious metals and a slew of various other types.

Seeing the young man enter through the doors, the woman shifted from her humming to speaking with him fluidly as she got down off the altar to stand on bare feet.

"From such injuries, I can only assume that it went as I predicted?" the woman asked, her voice kind and implying that she felt slightly sorry for whatever had happened to him.

Douglas closed the doors and walked forward towards the altar until he stood a mere five feet away from her. The raise in the floor that she was on, though, caused her to seemingly tower over him.

"For _five years **,**_ I've lived here. Never once did my family turn on me like that. My _father_ didn't even blink twice about leaving his own injured son on the side of the road, and even though there were people in the observation room of the police station watching that cop abuse me, he wasn't even questioned after he beat the shit out of me." Douglas replied. The woman stepped down off the raised floor to stand at eye-level with Douglas.

Reaching up with a hand, she gently traced the area around his black eye.

"I see. Do you regret taking my advice to stay silent and not cooperate with them? After all, if you had cooperated, you would most likely have been spared from the pain." she asked, to which Douglas narrowed his one good eye at her before reaching up with his hand and grasping her wrist gently yet firmly. Pulling her hand away from his face, he took a deep breath...

"There'd be no point in that. Let's just say, however, that you _definitely_ have earned my undivided attention." Douglas stated, a glint appearing in his eyes as his swollen face morphed into one of awkward determination.

Smiling kindly at the young man for his forgiveness of her having made him suffer physical and emotional abuse for the sake of proving a point to him, the woman simply reached forward and grabbed onto Douglas's left arm that was covered by his jacket.

Using her soft and dainty fingers, she slowly slid his jacket up his forearm, exposing his bare skin. Douglas allowed her to do this with bated breath. He couldn't deny that the kindness she exhibited made a few of the normally-dormant butterflies in his stomach start fluttering around wildly, causing his cheeks to heat up slightly from the odd feeling. Once his forearm was completely bare for both of them to see, she spoke to him.

"This ties into the talk we had before, about Angels and Devils and the like. In the past, I have met many a gentleman and lady who I would assist with gaining riches beyond their wildest dreams through the veritable addiction that is gambling. That is what I am good at, and thus it is what I did. However, **you** are considerably different..." she spoke in a voice that seemed old-fashioned, yet also with a note of nostalgia.

Douglas watched as she held his right forearm up with her left hand, and held her right hand above his arm with her index finger's small nail being aimed right at one of the veins on his hand.

However, it was not touching him, at the moment.

"Douglas Roland. There are weapons, tools and trinkets known as [Sacred Gears] in this world that have been gifted to humanity by the God for whom this place is built to worship. I confide in you now, that you possess one of these artifacts. Intertwined with your soul and body, is the one that is rumored to carry the spirit of the [Lady of Luck]."

"You, are my host. The host of the [Vivus Codex]."

* * *

 **Douglas's House**

 **Same Time...**

"...and then I got in my truck and drove away. He's probably limping here as we speak." Kenneth finished his explanation as he held a smartphone up to the side of his head.

He felt a little miffed that his son wasn't home yet, but by the long growl of a sigh on the other end of the line, he supposed that perhaps the man he was talking to was even less happy than he was.

"I'll be at your house within a few hours. Make sure that Douglas is in the house by the time I get there. I trust I shouldn't have to tell you that it would be detrimental if he is allowed to do as he pleases for too long." the masculine voice on the other end of the phone spoke in a German accent.

Kenneth just nodded his head.

"Yep. It ain't healthy for a kid like that. He needs discipline." Kenneth agreed, before the call was ended by the male on the other end hanging up.

"Go out and find him. I'll be making dinner." the woman sitting across the room from him spoke, to which Kenneth nodded before getting back up to go out and look for his wayward son.

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

 **Same Time...**

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

As a machine of some sorts that was nestled up against the wall of a silent white room started beeping loudly, a chorus of about eight voices cheered out as if in victory. And then, one mature feminine voice, amplified through a speaker resting on the wall, spoke these words...

"Phase 1 is complete! He's caught on!"

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Buenos Mucha Nachos, Pendejos~!**

 **The most culturally-** **sensitive** **, morally-correct and incomprehensibly compassionate jackass of this particular FanFiction account is back!**

 **Look down below, for that sweet _sweet_ section that allows people of all kinds to Leave a Review, and let me know how you either "like" or "absolutely hate" this new Chapter 1!**

 **Oh, and in case you're wondering, Yes. I have a First Arc actually planned. However, it won't be twenty chapters long, like the last story was. Because I planned. Yeah.**

 **Because "planning" is a thing.**

 **Also, Chapters will usually be longer than this, but I needed an "anchor chapter" as I like to call them. Just having something actually published officially onto the site helps push me to write more, since I'm not constantly coming up with ideas, sitting down to write about them, and then crumpling up and throwing the paper away because it turned out to be boring.**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter 2!**

 **Seriously, I'm fucking writing that right now. Like, as I'm typing this, I'm writing that one at the same time.**

 **It's freaky.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello Everyone,**

 **This go around, besides this Chapter, I'm gonna try to cut down on announcements and author's notes. I would just like to say that I have put up a new poll for this story concerning any potential love interests our nonplussed Protagonist-kun might have in the future.**

 **The reason for this stems from a small handful of Reviews all asking for "no harem", "a flower for each arm only" or "no romance whatsoever". Although it goes against a MASSIVE rule for writing DxD FanFiction, I honestly wouldn't mind doing any of these options. Besides, I've only done one poll before, and this one is MUCH less serious in nature. So, why not just have fun with it?**

 **Ultimately, I will have the final say-so. However, sometimes a story is funner to write when you run into challenges like this.**

 **Anyways, please check it out, and help yourself to Chapter 2!**

* * *

 **Guide to Reading this Story (There are changes in the normal way of talking and with thinking):**

"Words." - Talking. Anything in _italics_ is stressed and/or important. If, for some reason, I mistakenly use **emboldening** on a word in this fashion again, please leave a Review telling me. I'm so used to it from my last story that it might slip through, and I'm genuinely trying to proofread these damn things.

 _'Stuff.'_ \- Thinking. I'll be using apostrophe marks to enclose them, and so like with the bold words whilst talking, please tell me if I mistakenly use quotation marks again.

Everything else. - Descriptions.

*sounds* - Shorthand descriptions of sound that I needlessly still explain in more detail anyways, because I'm a B-Grade author of amateur fiction.

[Terms] – DxD-related terms and titles and really just that odd shit that isn't normally used in conversation.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – The Date of Change (Pt. 2)**

* * *

 **West Vancity Baptist Church**

Seeing the woman's finger come into contact with the pale skin of his forearm, Douglas nearly recoiled in shock from the sight of slim veins of _golden_ _light_ that pulsated within his forearm for a brief second before fading away.

"Holy-!? Wha-!? Di-...did you...do _that_?" Douglas stammered, his eyes darting between the woman's amused emerald irises and his forearm.

The woman merely gave off a light giggle in response.

"Heheheh, did I shock you~? Or, were you perhaps dubious to the idea that I was telling the truth about Angels and Devils when I spoke to you before?" the woman asked in a lighthearted tone, almost as if she never expected anything different from the young man standing before her.

Douglas just blinked a few times, her words registering in his mind.

 _'Was I? I mean, in all honesty, she never really went into detail before. However, after seeing this, I think I'd have to either be a fool or suffering a bout of insanity to say that she was just bullshitting me.'_ Douglas thought to himself, clenching and unclenching his hand several times before pulling it away from the woman gently.

"I was a little hesitant, sure. However, last night was a little...well, it was just a little weird all around to be honest." Douglas replied, reaching up and scratching the side of his head with an uncomfortable expression on his face.

* * *

 **Douglas's House**

 **Last Night**

"Well, isn't this just the strangest damn thing in the world?" Kenneth said as he, his wife and his son all sat around a dining room table eating dinner. The patriarch of the household was currently staring out of a small window just a few feet away to the looming horizon of the outside world.

Douglas, who was sitting there with darkened dull eyes and a head slumped over lazily, was only able to glance up from his seat with about as much care or curiosity as a rock. On his face was a small white bandage that had a tiny blotch of red blood that had seemingly soaked through the protective covering. On the left side of his neck, was a gauze pad taped over another wound that had a fair sized patch of red on it, though it seemed to be close to getting the wound to stop bleeding by the looks of it.

Looking outside, he saw dark gray storm clouds moving in their direction from over the top of one of the mountains the city was nestled in between.

"..." Douglas sat there, numbly chewing the pork steak in his mouth with an almost mindless passiveness.

"Those are looking mighty dark, all right. We usually don't get much rain in Autumn. Oh well, just make sure to keep anything not protected by a surge protector unplugged." Kenneth dismissed, before going back to his dinner.

A few hours after, with not very many words being said, the Roland family concluded their dinnertime as the evening sun was both setting over a part of the mountain range in the distance, whilst also being replaced by the menacing-looking storm clouds rolling in from the side.

The family had taken to watching TV together in the living room, until Douglas got up from where he sat cross-legged on the floor between his parents once the storm had finally started coming down.

And when it came down, it came down _hard_.

Bidding the adults farewell for the night, he went upstairs to his room. Douglas entered through the door with lethargic steps before absentmindedly pushing the door shut with his free arm.

Walking across the plainly furnished room that had a few dressers for clothes against one wall, a twin-sized bed against another wall, and a massive 54-inch TV mounted to the wall opposite the bed. The television was hooked up to various different gaming consoles and a gaming computer stacked neatly on glass shelves underneath the television with black wooden shelves chock-full of games sitting beside them. Getting onto his bed, he pulled out his smartphone and opened up the web browser application in order to get onto one of the many...

...*ahem* _adult weaboo websites_ , to pass the time until he needed to go to sleep to prepare for school the next day.

*ring* *ring* *ring*

However, just before he was finished typing in the shady-seeming URL for the website, his phone alerted him to somebody calling him. His dull eyes didn't even blink as he righted the phone in order to look at the 'Caller ID'.

"...A friend?" he murmured to himself, slowly pressing the 'accept call' button that appeared. Putting the phone up to his ear whilst laying on the bed, he answered politely.

"Moshi Moshi, Douglas-des." he spoke, his voice monotone.

Instead of getting an answer, Douglas received something _very_ different.

*sssskkkkkkkrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeee*

* * *

 **West Vancity Baptist Church**

 **Present Day**

"...yep, it still kind of rings." Douglas complained, rubbing his right ear like it had received a still-tender wound and gently caressing it would somehow make it feel better.

The woman looked at him with a mildly apologetic expression.

"Yes, that is the unfortunate side-effect of what needed to be done to you." the woman spoke, her tone belying a sense of guilt. Douglas just looked at her in an almost cross-like manner before sighing.

"Yeah, about that. I'll be honest, my head was super fuzzy that day, and I barely even remember a lot of what you said. The only real things that stuck out to me in that conversation were your instructions to not use any more electronics, to hack into the school security system and a seemingly insane phrase..." Douglas replied, to which the woman raised an eyebrow. Crossing his arms, Douglas stared at her with a deathly serious expression.

"This world isn't real." Douglas remembered, his tone implying he had taken such a statement far more seriously than any sane person would normally take it.

The woman's expression hardened as she nodded in affirmation of what he said.

"Yes. I am glad that _that_ part reached you, at the very least. Douglas, I must admit...all of the strange and unfortunate occurrences that have happened to you in the last 24 hours have been orchestrated to make you believe that one irrefutable truth. That this world is _not_ real." the woman confirmed, Douglas watching as her thin feminine lips turned upwards into a smile.

Turning around, she walked up to the podium and hopped onto it, kicking her feet back and forth playfully.

"Shall I...explain all of this to you?" the woman offered, to which Douglas nodded. The woman then closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before releasing it as a sigh.

"What I said to you last night about Angels and Devils was absolutely true, Douglas. They exist, as do Humans who study the ways of Magic, otherwise known as Magicians. I suggest we focus on the concept of Magicians, as it is topical to your situation in this _fake world_. Now, large groups of Magicians have formed what are called [Magician Organizations]. These 'organizations' create and enforce rules that Magicians have to follow, as well as provide an adequate amount of safety for Magicians to conduct their research and work in peace. If a Magician fails to follow these rules, they are cast out of the 'organization', and are given a label that puts them on the same level as a common criminal in the eyes of the Supernatural World. A Stray Magician." the woman explained. Douglas, partway through, decided that this was going to be a long night and therefore took a seat in one of the front-row pews.

Nodding along with her explanation, Douglas made an effort to simply accept the information coming at him with an open mind. He could sift through it later and weed out the lies with a fine-tooth comb. However, too many strange occurrences were happening around him to simply dismiss all of the fantastical things she was saying outright.

"Go on." he urged her to continue, his attention focused upon her and her alone.

"As you wish. There was a Magician who was not the most outstanding when compared to his peers. He had gotten looped into an unfair contract with a particularly nasty Devil who started treating him as their personal slave. This Magician decided to start his own research into harnessing a different, more potent power source that wouldn't rely strictly on his own capabilities. He believed that doing so might enable him to break free of this unfair contract through brute force. However, his research started delving into topics that are widely considered _taboo_. Specifically, he started looking into using _Human spirits_ as the fuel for his power, similar to the ways of the [Old Satan Faction]. Since such practices often result in _permanent side-effects_ or even _death_ for the Humans in question, he was exiled and labeled as a Stray Magician." the woman recounted elegantly, beginning to run her hands through her silky-smooth hair.

Douglas found himself somewhat enraptured by the story being woven by the woman whose voice seemed to exude both calmness and sympathy.

However, that was before he remembered that she was telling this story for a reason.

"This Magician, you're saying _he's_ the reason I'm here?" Douglas asked. The woman simply nodded, her smile morphing into a frown.

"Yes. However, he ended up targeting _you_. Honestly, even one such as I can understand the primal fear he must feel of this Devil. But, who would ever think it acceptable to target an innocent little boy who was only 10 years old and asleep in his bed as the subject for such a dangerous little _project_?" the woman asked in turn, to which Douglas immediately shook his head, before he realized that she was talking about _him_.

"Wait, you mean he kidnapped me!?" Douglas asked, shocked that something like that had happened to him and he had no idea about it. The woman solemnly nodded.

"After discovering that your spirit was considerably powerful for a 10 year old's, he decided to target you as there was very little risk that you would be able to fend him off at that point, considering you weren't prepared in the first place. Once he saw his chance to get a hold of you, he whisked you away and inserted himself into your _mindscape_ , which is what this place truly is. The act of doing so has caused your body to enter into a coma, in which you have been for the past five years. Now, if you wish for a simplistic explanation on the nature of this place, this entire city and mountain range is a _dream world_ created by your _subconscious_ that he manipulated through magical means as a way to keep your conscious mind distracted whilst he siphons away your _[Spiritual Energy]_." the woman spoke, her tone unmistakably serious.

Douglas felt floored for a moment as he leaned back in his seat, his stomach and all of his limbs feeling one hundred pounds heavier all of a sudden.

"The ways he did this were various in nature. First, all of those _video games_ , _anime_ , and...those _other things_ that you are so fond of partaking in were laced through and through with hypnotic spells designed to heavily numb your conscious mind's sensory and logic capabilities. Long-term exposure to those spells is known to induce mild forms of dependence and addiction similar to those who use illegal drugs. Second, was through the _mental constructs_ you refer to as your _parents_. They kept a close eye on you and made sure you were kept underneath the hypnosis every second of every day. Third, was your school..." the woman spoke, her words drifting into silence in the ears of Douglas as his mind was almost forced to remember what he had seen when he hacked into the surveillance systems for his school...

The teacher's eyes never left _him_ , even as they wrote on the board. All of the other students stared at _him_ the entire time.

Whenever he walked somewhere, he'd always have numerous eyes on his _each_ and _every move_.

And, no matter what, whenever he was bullied, which was every single day, the teachers _never_ showed up to help. He couldn't even remember half of the beatings he usually received.

Strangely, every single time after being bullied, he vaguely remembered feeling a powerful urge to go home and _play video games_. They had a calming effect on him, and almost seemed to make the pain stop existing.

However, what had shocked him even more after he saw it on screen, was how astounded he was that he had _never noticed before_.

*snap*

Jolting upwards in his seat once he heard a sharp sound echo through the church interior, Douglas's slightly dulled eyes shot wide open as glints of light appeared in them, signaling intelligent thought was occurring inside of his head.

"...Douglas? Are you still with me?" the woman asked, holding her right hand up in a way that looked like she had just snapped her fingers.

Douglas just looked up at her with raised eyebrows, still feeling slightly startled.

"H-Huh!? Oh! Uh, yeah! I...uh, I'm still here. I just got...a little lost in thought for a moment." Douglas responded somewhat sheepishly, his cheeks feeling like they were burning even though their true color was closer to being stark white. The woman looked at him with a concerned expression.

"Douglas, I understand that this is a lot to take in, but do not hesitate to stop me if you require a reprieve. Granted, we _are_ pressed for time. However, as my host, your well-being is the most important thing in the world to me." the woman kindly spoke, the attention she showed to Douglas not being something he was used to, which caused him to once again feel the discomforting sensation of butterflies in his stomach.

Douglas, taking a moment to take a few deep breaths, just let out a huge sigh.

"What do you mean, 'pressed for time'? Is something gonna happen soon?" Douglas asked worriedly. The woman nodded, her expression serious once more.

"Yes. I, myself, do not have much experience with the ways of Magic, nor with a large majority of the creatures that are spoken of in legends and myths. However, I have been informed that the Magician who has trapped you in here has sent your _fake_ _father_ to come and collect you in order to bring you to _him_ so that he can come into contact with you personally and use more powerful spells to subjugate your mind and make you as you were before. That would _not_ bode well for the plan that has been created to free you from this mental prison." the woman replied. Douglas's worried expression told her that he could sense the distress in her voice, and was willing to respond to it out of pure faith.

"How long until my Dad gets here?" Douglas asked. The woman simply closed her eyes for a moment before opening them.

"25 Minutes, maybe less. However, there is something very important that I must do to you before then, and _that_ will eat up a significant portion of that time." the woman said, to which Douglas raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?" he asked. The woman shook her head.

"I am getting there. Now, your real body is currently inside an isolated infirmary room inside one of the headquarters of one of the [Magician Organizations]. It is being monitored by a team of expert Magicians, who have drafted a _four-phase_ _plan_ in order to free you." the woman continued her explanation. Douglas went back into focusing on her every word, committing it to memory.

"The first phase is simple. Get you to recognize that you are inside of a _fake world_. Phase Two, is what I need to do to you." the woman said, Douglas's attention grabbed firmly by this talk of a plan.

"See, this Magician that has entered your mindscape, he has blocked off most of the channels inside of you that connect your brain with the rest of your body. This makes it harder for the Magicians to use their Magic to assist you. That, is where _I_ come in. I am a fairly-wide channel myself, being your [Sacred Gear], and I can allow them to use their Magic on you directly so long as I act as the medium. The night I spoke to you, that screeching sound you heard was a mild counter-spell designed to lessen the immediate effects of the hypnosis you have been under for the past five years. However, it wasn't entirely effective. It allowed you to get to the point to where you can understand you are in a fake world, but it is incapable of truly freeing your mind from the constraints you have been placed under for so many years by the work of this Magician." the woman explained. Douglas just nodded along, showing he was paying attention, even though his mind was slowly, yet surely, being further and further astounded by the fantastical circumstances happening to him at this very moment.

"And so, the Magicians on our side have designed an even more potent counter-spell that will nullify _everything_ this Magician has ever done to you. The problem, though, lies in the fact that you have already experienced a great degree of suffering inside this dream world, which was numbed and made to be forgotten through the use of the hypnosis spells that were constantly barraging your mind. This will...nullify all of that numbing and memory alteration as well." the woman finished explaining, her tone trailing off on a somber note.

Douglas felt like he understood the implication of her words immediately, considering she didn't sound at all happy or relieved about it.

 _'If I do this, I will experience_ everything _I had buried through the use of the hypnosis in full.'_ Douglas affirmed to himself, understanding that if he went through with it, that it would hurt.

A lot.

The woman then got off of the podium and walked forward until she stood in front of him before kneeling down and getting onto her knees in a submissive position with her hands clasped over her heart in a sympathetic notion. Looking at him with kind and apologetic green eyes, she spoke up to him once more.

"It will take time for the alteration of your memories to be undone and for the hypnosis to be completely dispelled. Your conscious mind will be preoccupied whilst this is happening. Douglas...I know this is asking for a lot but, do you trust me with this?" the woman asked for permission, as she unclasped her hands and held them out for Douglas to place his own in.

Douglas stared at her quietly for a moment, before reaching a conclusion.

"What's your name?" Douglas asked, to which the woman's smile became friendlier.

"...you may call me _Ellen_. All of my friends refer to me as such." Ellen spoke kindly. Douglas simply raised an eyebrow before looking her up and down.

Nodding, seemingly satisfied with that, he uncrossed his arms and placed his hands in hers...

...and immediately fell head first into Ellen's chest, his mind no longer able to support his body as it started racing through memory after memory...

* * *

 **Real World**

Inside of the now bustling white room, a team of individuals dressed in lab coats gathered around and discussed the series of graphs and tables that were appearing on a giant monitoring screen whilst several glowing magic circles of various colors were set up in front of each of them detailing numerous calculations.

In the middle of the room, however, was a dividing transparent emerald-green wall that partitioned the room into two halves.

In the other half of the room, were two individuals. One of them laying on a hospital bed sat up against the wall opposite of the monitor, and the other standing beside the bed.

The one on the bed was an unconscious teenage male with severely unkempt blond hair and a body physique that looked almost malnourished. His skin, only covered from the waist to the knee by a small white blanket, was incredibly pale with various markings all over his body. On his stomach, chest and forehead were intricately drawn circles with various markings that looked to be runes and inscriptions laced inside each of them, which were providing real-time information to the Magicians on the opposing side of the room. Sticking out from the side of his head, almost like a dagger, was a jagged asymmetrical spike of blue crystal about a foot-long that seemed to be filled with glowing golden energy.

The other individual, staring down somberly at the unconscious teenager, was a woman with healthy white skin who appeared to be in her thirties and who stood at approximately 5'8''. Her hair, shiny and black in color, was done up in a mixed braid bun. Her eyes were the color of the purest sapphires and were covered by a pair of black-rimmed eyeglasses. Her slim body, possessing respectable curves, was hidden underneath silky black robes that clung to her body with white straps around the waist, elbows and knees to keep it from sliding around and obstructing her movements. On her feet, were a pair of low-heeled dress shoes. Beside her head, was a yellow-colored magic circle.

Once the woman saw golden veins of light pulse throughout the young man's left forearm, she allowed a relieved smile to come across her face.

 _'What do you know? I suppose being his [Sacred Gear], he feels an innate desire to place an inordinate amount of trust in her.'_ the woman thought to herself, as she brought forth the knowledge from inside her mind she required for what she was about to do.

Holding her palm over the teenage male's head, a dark purple magic circle approximately a foot in diameter appeared below it. Then, with a soft violet glow, streams of energy seemed to slither out from the magic circle into the boy's temples.

"We have contact! Beginning Phase 2!" the woman spoke into the magic circle floating beside her head, her voice being transmitted to the other half of the room. The Magicians seemed to be hard at work on monitoring the progress of whatever the woman was doing to the young man, whilst also seemingly trying to keep a constant eye on the movements of the Magician inside of the boy's head.

 _'Do not fear, Douglas. I will never abandon you to that mongrel.'_ the woman thought, a surge of righteous anger coursing through her veins which made her focus even harder on performing the counter-spell.

* * *

 **Douglas's Mindscape**

Douglas, for all he was worth, had his doubts when he grabbed Ellen's hands.

However, when he was immediately assaulted by a long string of memories that all seemed to have something incredibly strange and out of place inside of them that he felt like he was suddenly noticing for the first time, he couldn't deny it anymore.

This world couldn't _possibly_ be real.

* * *

 **1 Year Ago**

*thwack*

As Douglas's head snapped to the side from the force of the punch, his legs finally gave out from underneath him. At that point, the only thing supporting him were the two males on either side of him holding him up by the arms.

Standing in front of him, was a ginger-haired male with green eyes wearing a black t-shirt and brown cargo shorts, with fists caked in blood from his repeated punching of the blond.

Turning his head back to the ginger, Douglas's dull expression never changed. However, _neither did the bully's._

Throwing another bloody fist forward, the bully continued the beat-down on the defenseless blond...

* * *

 **2 Years Ago**

Laying on his bed, a newly-minted teenage Douglas with bruises and cuts all over his body was surfing the web on his brand new smartphone and had _accidentally_ discovered a veritable treasure trove of _adult_ anime content on an obscure website. It didn't even register with him what he was doing, nor how many _hours_ he had locked himself away from the outside world.

One thing he knew, was that his new hobby was _almost_ _as_ _fun_ _as video games and anime_.

Then, he had a fleeting thought. He should thank that old man on the side of the road for the hint on how to search for said _treasure_...

* * *

 **3 Years Ago**

Sitting on the bed in his room, a pre-teen Douglas with fresh bruises all over his white t-shirt and blue denim jean clad body was lethargically playing video games, his mind not really registering the _small but intense flashes of white_ _light_ that periodically pulsated from the screen which would normally drive anyone else insane.

However, every time the light flashed, his dull expression that seemed to contain a hint of recognizing the pain he was in became even duller as the pain ebbed away into blissful nothingness.

* * *

 **4 Years Ago**

Douglas, in his first year of middle school, was sitting quietly at a wooden desk inside of a classroom at school, taking notes down mindlessly whilst watching the teacher write on the chalkboard. He didn't register that the female teacher was staring at him in an incredibly unnerving way as she continued to write, nor did he seem to recognize that there were _two large intricately drawn portraits of what looked like magic circles on either side of the board._

All that registered in his mind, was the content on the board, which was describing the construction and layout of skyscrapers, as well as what it would appear to look like to an average person of his size.

Without even contemplating on the fact that he currently lived in a small village nestled between two mountains, he glanced out of the window. Seeing high-rise buildings now existing where he had only ever seen small houses before, he simply concluded with his numb mind...

...that he had simply _never noticed them before_ , and that _they must have been there the entire time_.

However, a brief thought seemingly came to him, to which he felt a smile etch itself onto his face.

 _'Skyscrapers mean expansion. Expansion means more games and anime...'_ he thought, a fleeting feeling of happiness being born inside of his chest.

* * *

 **Douglas's House**

 **In the Present**

Walking up to the front door of the quaint two-story house, was a man.

Standing at 6' even, with a very slim build, he didn't seem to exude any sort of special presence at all. His black hair that was long enough to reach his shoulder-blades was tied in a low-hanging ponytail. His skin, peeking out from underneath a dark suit, white dress shirt and black leather gloves, was pale white. His eyes were a deep scarlet color that seemed extraordinarily dark in the dim lighting, making them almost appear to be completely black.

As the man got up to the front door, he began reaching for the doorknob when all of a sudden, he sensed a disturbance of sorts emanate through the air around him from the direction of the western-most side of the city.

His scarlet eyes going wide, he snapped his head in the direction of the strange pulse. It was also at that moment, that his eyes began to glow, giving off a blood-red light as they narrowed significantly.

"They've gotten to him. I must hurry." the man spoke to himself, his German accent deepening in worry. Turning forward once more, he reached for the doorknob and opened up the door.

A little help, he pondered, would not be unwarranted...

* * *

 **5 Years Ago**

Douglas was made to see all of these memories fly by in a hurry as his much more alert mind was able to make out the strange inconsistencies in all of them, even as he firmly remembered just how numb his mind felt at the time.

However, he felt almost as if he was completely _stopped_ in order to view this memory in its entirety.

 _'This...this is the day we moved here...'_ Douglas thought to himself as he was thrust into the exact same spot he was in on that day...

...sitting in front of the television in the living room, his legs crossed and his eyes wide with wonder and happiness as he saw one of the most epic anime scenes in all of existence, at least in his opinion.

 _'MASTERED ULTRA INSTINCT GOKU VS. JIREN!?'_

Even now, his excitement still managed to surge forth for the first time in five years from some forgotten depths of his heart as the badass music clip started playing as Goku proceeded to open a can of literal whoop-ass on Jiren the Gray.

However, unlike how he used to remember it, in the background he could hear his father talking with a man who had a smooth German accent.

"Yes, we will keep an eye on him and make sure he's regularly conditioned." Kenneth spoke in an almost drone-like voice.

Douglas couldn't turn his head to see who he was speaking with, but he did feel a dagger of hurt run through his heart when he felt that his somewhat latent suspicions were confirmed.

 _'Ellen was really telling the truth. Mom, Dad, everyone...they're all just spies and cohorts for whoever this guy is. Everything was a lie from the beginning.'_ Douglas thought, almost feeling the near foreign sensation of water running down his cheeks, even though he imagined it would be impossible to influence his memories like that.

"Notify me if he starts acting out. If you terrorize him or hurt him in an attempt to punish him, he _should_ attempt to turn to the hypnosis once again in order to relieve the pain. That will keep him under control until I can get to him. However, it is truly unfortunate. I really don't wish for him to suffer, but his [Spiritual Energy] will be able to more easily slip past the _barrier_ they've set up if I can trick his brain into thinking he's in genuine distress. In exchange for his help, I will ensure he gets a tailored education and is allowed to live a life of luxury whenever I do not need him to be in distress. He will want for nothing, and will not have to deal with any responsibilities." the man with the German accent spoke softly, his tone sounding truly apologetic yet also determined, for some reason.

Douglas wished to give voice to his thoughts so as to tell the Magician responsible for his _fake life_ that he wanted to be set free, but he was not able to.

"Also, whenever you call me, refer to me as _Garth_." the man then said, his German accent slowly fading away into silence as the sounds of footsteps carried him out the front door.

 _'Garth...of course. Dad would always call and talk to Garth about me. That bastard told me Garth was a child psychologist that they were seeking advice from!'_ Douglas thought to himself, memories of several conversations flashing through his head before his mind was brought back to the memory at hand.

When the door shut, Douglas, who was forced to watch the television, immediately started seeing a series of flashing white lights as glowing magic circles appeared in front of the screen. He suspected that _this_ was one of the first times a massive amount of hypnosis was used on him, since before he accepted Ellen's help, he could barely remember the rest of this particular day.

However, unlike his other memories, he didn't feel even remotely numb or lethargic as he was subjected to the hypnosis spell once again.

In fact, his mind instantly became completely and utterly _alert._

Douglas then felt, for the first time he can ever recall, a dark surge of anger that seemed to well up from the deepest recesses of his mind.

Feeling a deep breath of air fill his lungs, Douglas's vision seemed to shift from staring at his living room television to staring into the very close face of a smiling white-haired woman with gentle green eyes.

At that point, from the depths of his heart, he screamed at the top of his lungs...

* * *

 **West Vancity Baptist Church**

Pulling up outside of the run-down church, the edge of the full-moon peeking over the mountain range in the opposite direction of the now no longer visible sun, Kenneth parked his truck in the dirt just outside of the front of the church.

Getting out of the still running vehicle, he walked around it and up the steps to the front doors.

However, he was completely unprepared for what he saw when he opened them.

There, laying in the comforting embrace of a white-haired woman, was his son. However, the stream of tears running down his face indicated to him that something was _extremely_ wrong.

And when Douglas opened his mouth, the most soul-rending scream of anguish erupted from the boy's lips.

All of a sudden, a visible shockwave exploded outwards from where he and the woman were sat, blasting all of the pews into the walls before blowing the rotten walls and the deteriorated roof of the church to kingdom come, opening the interior up completely to the elements of the night sky.

When the shockwave reached Kenneth, he didn't even have time to react before his body was flung out of the instantly demolished doorway, sailing over his truck and landing unceremoniously on the dirt road leading up to the church.

Back inside the church, after releasing such a hellish scream for naught but a few seconds, Douglas quieted down as the massive influx of pain and rememberance he had been subjected to abated.

Opening his eyes, which were drowning in the first tears he'd cried in over five years, he saw Ellen looking down upon him with a kind smile as she held him in her warm embrace.

"All done, Douglas...your mind is now free from his influence." Ellen spoke kindly, to which Douglas just blinked a few times before he realized that the pain was done and over with.

Reaching up, he pried Ellen's arms away from himself and pushed his body off of hers with a slightly red face. Not taking any offence to this, and almost seemingly amused by it, Ellen allows him to create some space between them.

Taking a few moments to breathe deeply, Douglas relished in the feeling of his freed mind. And then, he turned to Ellen and spoke, his sapphire-blue eyes meeting her emerald-green ones...

"Thank you, Ellen." he said simply, though Ellen could easily detect the gratitude within his voice. She smiled even wider at him.

"Of course." she replied.

*stomp*

At the sudden noise, the two of them looked over to see Kenneth, his clothing torn up and dirty from having been blown away by the mysterious shockwave Douglas had created, standing there with a furious expression on his face.

 _'No. No. NO! He shouldn't have been able to break the spell! God Damn It! I shouldn't have ever let him out of my sight!'_ Kenneth thought, seeing his son and the woman he was near stand up and look at him.

Douglas, once he saw his _fake father_ standing there, felt that swelling of anger inside of him flare up even stronger for a brief moment. Then, he saw the _construct's_ lips open up to speak to him once more.

"Douglas! Get the hell away from that girl this second! I ain't fucking around no more!" Kenneth shouted at his son, a torrent of worry and fear washing over him as he saw the tears stop trickling down from his son's narrowed eyes.

Douglas reached up with his arm and, with a single brush, rubbed the tears out of his eyes and cleaned off most of the marks left behind. He then turned to look to Ellen, who was staring at the man across from them with a neutral expression.

"Remember what I said about this being your mindscape, Douglas? Well, the same principles as those that apply during lucid dreams apply here." she muttered simply to him, to which he gave a resolute nod, understanding what she was implying.

Turning back towards his _fake father_ , he glared _harshly_ at the older man. Extending one of his hands towards him, he simply blinked once before taking a large breath.

"Goodbye, _Liar_." Douglas spoke, his tone filled with a sense of both finality and disdain.

Kenneth's body, which had been largely undamaged from the impact of the shockwave, started to shine as every cell of his being began glowing with a strange golden light. Rapidly, the light became stronger as Kenneth looked to himself and cursed.

"Wha-!? Doug! What the-...what the hell!? STOP THI-!" Kenneth began to shout, before his shining body exploded into various particles of light, that then slowly dispersed throughout the air like fireflies in the night...

...which then caused one more tear drop from Douglas's eyes as he watched the only man he knew as his father disappear from existence.

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this newest Chapter. The main point of this one was to explain our dear Protagonist-kun's situation, give more insight into a few of the memories he's gained in his dream world, and to show him being ready to stand up and fight for his freedom from Garth, the German Magician who needs more screen time.**

 **This Chapter was also slightly short compared to the ones from my other story. However, I don't want to start mashing multiple Chapters together, and I _really_ don't want to start dragging things out too long to where it becomes like some of the more dialogue-heavy chapters in my previous story, with all the rambling and repeating of things and whatnot. I got everything done that I wanted to get done in this Chapter, and that's that.**

 **Again, same drill as last time, just below this is the Review section, so if you really want to tell me your thoughts on the story, feel free.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi.**

 **Sorry for taking so long to update, but the past month(s) have been pretty damn crazy. Besides using my relaxation time for other things, I had to redo a huge part of my driveway and I had a hernia surgery done. At the time of writing a majority of this chapter, I'm recovering and stuff.**

 **Thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Guide to Reading this Story (There's some new stuff in this Chapter):**

"Words." - Talking. Anything in _italics_ is stressed and/or important. If, for some reason, I mistakenly use emboldening on a word in this fashion again, please leave a Review telling me. I'm so used to it from my last story that it might slip through, and I'm genuinely trying to proofread these damn things.

 _'Stuff.'_ \- Thinking. I'll be using apostraphe marks to enclose them, and so like with the bold words whilst talking, please tell me if I mistakenly use quotation marks again.

Everything else. - Descriptions.

*sounds* - Shorthand descriptions of sound that I needlessly still explain in more detail anyways, because I'm a B-Grade author of amateur fiction.

[Terms] – DxD-related terms and titles and really just that odd shit that isn't normally used in conversation.

{Words} – Disembodied voices of all shapes and sizes. I'll probably do something different for monstrous sounding voices later on, though.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – The Date of Change (Pt. 3)**

* * *

 **Real World**

Standing over Douglas's unconscious body, the woman in black robes sighed deeply.

"Phase 2 is complete! We will soon move on to Phase 3!" she spoke into the yellow magic circle floating beside her, to which the Magicians on the other side of the green sheet of glass responded with various confirmations that they heard her words and were preparing for the next phase of the plan.

Looking down at the young man laying on the bed, the woman allowed a warm smile to come to her thin lips. Reaching out with her right hand, she gently brushed the shaggy unkempt hair out of his pale face.

 _'Oh, if only...if only we had gotten to you sooner. I'd have ripped that lowly traitor out of your head without even an ounce of meaningful resistance, and none of_ this _would have happened. But, with this cursed crystal threatening to explode if tampered with and with how he's taken over most of the energy channels within your body, I wouldn't be able to do so without either severely harming or even outright killing you in the process. Please, Douglas...I don't want to put you in any more danger than is absolutely necessary...so please, just do enough to give me a shot at him. One shot...is all I'll need. Then, you can come back. To your friends...to_ me _.'_ the woman thought as she proceeded to tenderly stroke the boy's head.

The Magicians on the other side of the glass silently looked over to drink in the sight of the black-haired woman affectionately stroking the head of the unconscious teenage boy.

Looking to each other, they all gave a single nod.

* * *

 **West Vancity Baptist Church**

As Douglas and Ellen stood in silence in the middle of the scattered remains of the church, they watched the small particles of golden light that had comprised the mental projection of Douglas's father slowly drift to the ground where they disappeared.

Turning her head towards the young man beside her, Ellen adopted a sympathetic look.

"Even knowing he was fake...that could not have been easy. Are you okay, Douglas?" she asked, her tone attempting to convey as much kindness and respect as possible. Douglas, however, merely bowed his head. Gritting his teeth, he brought up one of his arms to wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie.

"...I just...I want out of here. What's his name? The...Magician, that is keeping me in here?" Douglas responded neutrally, turning both his head and body away from the woman beside him.

Ellen's expression shifted to worry at both his wording and the tone he used. She considered pressing him, but she understood the risks associated with doing so.

 _'If he breaks down, our chances of success will drop significantly. However, there is no telling just how emotional he is right now. Even if it was a fake, it was the only father he currently knows of that he destroyed. But, we are also becoming more and more pressed for time as more parts of the plan are completed. From here on out, we may not have enough time to stop and comfort a teenage boy who just lost his father.'_ Ellen thought to herself, silently deciding to go along with Douglas's questioning until such a time when they _weren't_ trying to secure his freedom.

"Erik. Erik Raiken." Ellen replied in a curt tone, to which Douglas crossed his arms.

"...give me a few minutes." Douglas sternly spoke, before closing his eyes and concentrating.

Ellen was about to ask what Douglas meant, but wasn't given the chance as the blond-haired young man vanished into thin air as if he was never there to begin with. It took Ellen a moment to process what had happened, but when she did, her heart dropped and her expression became filled with fear.

"Douglas..." she breathed out, staring numbly at the space where he had just been standing.

* * *

 **Douglas's House**

In the middle of the living room, Erik Raiken stood _alone_ amidst the moonlight drifting in through the window. His scarlet-red eyes gleamed in the dim lighting. Taking a deep breath, the man gave a resolute sigh.

"Eight years of forced servitude and five years of hard work in here. Once they rip me out, I'll find out if it's all been a waste of time or not." he muttered to himself quietly, raising his hands up and beginning to fix up his clothing out of anxiety.

"Is that even a possibility?"

Flinching at the sudden male voice speaking up from _right_ behind him, Erik swiveled around and stepped away from the sound whilst thrusting his left hand forward, a glowing red magic circle springing forth in front of his palm. When he saw who it was, though, his eyes widened in recognition and uncertainty.

Standing there, in the doorway connecting the living room to the hallway, was a blond-haired young man with blue eyes wearing a hoodie over a baggy white t-shirt and baggy blue denim jeans. The young man's arms were crossed over his chest, and his face was set in a stoic expression.

"...Douglas. I...well, I wasn't expecting for you to come to me so...so soon." Erik spoke, trying to remain calm even while his mentally-projected heart felt like it was beating rapidly from the scare he had just experienced.

 _'With this being his mindscape, there's no limit as to what he can do. Teleportation across the city is almost child's play. However, they should've explained things to him by now. So...why is he here? I imagined that he would want to expel me from his head as fast as possible, put me behind bars, and_ then _interrogate me.'_ Erik thought, keeping his hand outstretched with the magic circle intact and ready to activate.

Douglas didn't budge from his position, even though he was a little nervous about what the magic circle would potentially do, or if it was already doing something and he didn't know it. However, he had come here for a reason, and he wasn't going to be disuaded.

Not right off the bat, anyways...

"In anime and video games, these kinds of encounters happen after a bunch of plot and game-play. It makes them have more impact. However, you've been in my head for five freaking years, so I figured I would come see you in person right away." Douglas reasoned, even as Erik took a cautious step away from him.

"I see. Is there any...particular _reason_? Perhaps to question me?" Erik responded, standing up slightly straighter after he had established at least ten feet of distance between him and the blond. Douglas merely shrugged his shoulders.

"More or less. Let's start with the one I just asked. Do you really think there's a possibility that what you're doing _isn't_ a waste of time?" Douglas asked, to which Erik simply pursed his lips together.

Taking a moment to answer, the man nodded resolutely.

"Yes, though it is small. Do you know _why_ I've done all of this? What would drive someone to target a child in this manner?" Erik asked in turn. Douglas's right eye twitched slightly.

"I was told that you had made a deal with a Devil for power, it turned rotten and then you wanted to force your way out of that deal by stealing my [Spiritual Energy]." Douglas replied, to which Erik's face turned into a disgusted sneer.

"...I would never deal with that _monster_ for something as insignificant as _power_." he said under his breath, though Douglas still heard it perfectly in the silence of the household.

The young man raised an eyebrow at this.

"Then why _did_ you deal with this _monster_?" Douglas pressed, using air quotes for the word 'monster' before crossing his arms again. Erik lowered his hand slightly and allowed the magic circle to disappear.

"...do you honestly wish to listen to the story of the man who has caused you so much suffering? If you wish to be angry with me, then I would completely understand. With the help of the Magicians on the outside of your body, you'd be able to expel me from your head quite easily and not have to deal with any of this any longer." Erik remarked, keeping his eyes fixed on Douglas's sapphire orbs.

However, in spite of his expectations, the young man sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm angry with you. But, more than that...I want to get out of here. I'm no good with manipulating people, though, so I'll just come out and say it. The best case scenario, as far as I'm concerned, is for you to surrender and leave my mindscape of your own free will. If you don't, then of course I'm going to do what I need to in order to force you out. However, that...I don't particularly like the thought of simply relying on the help of some random Magicians to handle all of this for me, even though all of this is completely new to me. To be honest, just the thought of how helpless I've been these past five years is nearly enough to make me want to vomit." Douglas spoke truthfully, his face even looking a little queasy near the end.

Erik stared at Douglas for a good long minute before finally replying.

"And what's stopping me from hypnotizing you again, Douglas? I'm not sure how exactly they got to you, but you shouldn't have co-."

"While I doubt you _can_ , it doesn't change the fact that doing so would be pointless." Douglas interrupted Erik's threat almost like he couldn't care less about it. Erik narrowed his eyes behind his glasses at the young man.

"What makes you say that?" Erik posed. Douglas simply smirked in reply.

"Oh, sure. I'll just go all brain-dead again for another week or so before they get to me again. Only, at that point, I'll be _much_ _less inclined_ towards the idea of convincing you to leave. You'll be ejected faster than those stupid rip-off games of _Dragon Ball_ that were impossible for me to play, and then there will be nobody who will care to listen to your story. And, as far as I'm aware, killing me would only mean that those Magicians outside of my body have no reason to tip-toe around all of _this_. You'll be ripped out and properly punished without hesitation." Douglas rebuked, causing the other man to go quiet.

Taking a moment to compose himself, Erik could definitely understand where the young man was coming from. It's also not as if he had never once given thought to the idea of surrendering himself to the Magicians on the outside. He simply understood things a little differently than a naive fifteen-year old boy.

Finally coming to his decision, Erik sighed and dropped his arms to his side.

"If you truly wish to listen...then, I suppose I might as well. But, before all of that, let me just say that I never meant to hurt you. I never felt any form of malice or anger towards you. This was all to get back at that _monster_ for what he had done...and to try to save someone who desperately needs saving." Erik spoke, though Douglas only waved his hand through the air dismissively with an uninterested expression on his face.

"Spare the apologies. You've already caused the damage. This story, if it's the truth, could potentially help to mitigate any damage caused from hereon out. Also, just a small warning, don't think you can pull a fast one on me." Douglas replied succinctly though his eyes narrowed into a dark glare at the end.

Erik swallowed a little more harshly, but nodded nevertheless and began his tale...

* * *

 **Real World**

Inside of the room where the unconscious body of Douglas Roland was kept under the watchful eyes of many Magicians, one could hear a pen drop in the silence that seemed to weigh on the air itself. The group of Magicians behind the opposing side of the glass were all quiet as they looked onward and awaited further instructions.

For the woman who was standing over Douglas's body, she could only release a frustrated sigh.

"Very well, [Lady of Luck]. Do as he said and wait. There is very little risk in this meeting, though there is a chance that Erik may sink his teeth into Douglas once again. However, doing so would basically be a stalling tactic, and would only work to Erik's disadvantage in the long run." the woman spoke out loud, though the yellow magic circle floating near her head seemed to turn dull and transparent while she talked, indicating that the Magicians on the other side of the glass were not made privy to her words.

In the unconscious boy's left forearm, a few veins of golden light could be seen coursing underneath the skin. Soon after she had finished speaking, the black-haired woman heard a now familiar female voice reply to her telepathically.

{But, what if Erik uses his Magic to trick Douglas into helping him escape?} the voice of Ellen asked worriedly, to which the woman simply shook her head in response.

"Erik should be very well aware by now of who is guarding Douglas's body. I'm not letting him get away with this. However, inside of his mindscape, I'm afraid that Douglas's subconscious desires will flow far more unabated than they would in the real world. If this were in the physical realm, he would most likely have felt enough fear to believe that charging headfirst towards the enemy is a bad enough idea to simply not do it." the black-haired woman responded.

With those last vaguely reassuring words, the golden veins of light in Douglas's forearm faded away, signaling Ellen's withdrawal from the conversation after having informed the black-haired woman of the new development.

Biting her lip, the woman let out an internal sigh of annoyance.

 _'I shall allow this to happen, Douglas. After all, there's only one reason you'd be trying to talk with Erik. If you can convince him to leave on his own, then great. But, if you can't, you're going to need to run away from him. You may be inside of your mindscape, but Erik isn't such a massive fool that he wouldn't take precautions just in case he needed to deal with you in a direct confrontation.'_ the woman thought to herself, a thin frown appearing on her face.

The yellow magic circle flared back up to life next to her head as she gave the group their instructions.

"Standby and remain prepared for Phase 3." she ordered, quickly receiving affirmations from the group.

* * *

 **Douglas's House**

"It happened thirteen years ago. I was just an average Magician working for [Grauzauberer]. I hadn't started researching forbidden subjects yet. My little sister, Sabrina, was about to have a baby with her husband, Garth Hendrickson." Erik began, though Douglas raised an eyebrow.

"So, that's where you got the name _Garth_ from?" the blond remarked. Erik just nodded.

"Yes. I used it as just another layer of trickery. I'm sure you know my real name, Erik Raiken?" Erik replied, causing Douglas to sigh deeply.

"CEO of _Raiken Studios Inc._ , the leading developer of all things electronic and entertainment-related in this dream-world. I'd question why you used your real name for _that_ , but..." Douglas trailed off. Erik merely shrugged.

"There was really no downside to using my real name for something in this place, since you don't know me in the real world. However, you might have found it a tad suspicious if your parents were discussing personal details about you to a rich CEO of a company, rather than a family friend who happened to be a child psychiatrist." Erik explained, to which Douglas nodded. Erik simply continued, feeling like that particular conversation was over with.

"Anyways, my little sister and her husband went on vacation half-way around the world. Soon after, I got sent a video of them being held hostage. The person who introduced himself as their captor was one of the descendants of the [Old Satans], Creuserey Asmodeus." Erik spoke, though his tone held a bit of venom when he said the name of the Devil.

Douglas's eyes, however, widened significantly.

"Is _that_ the Devil you're contracted to?" Douglas asked, only for Erik to nod solemnly.

"He showcases all of the worst habits of Devils on a daily basis. Arrogance, selfishness, a general lack of compassion and a sincere desire to hurt others because he's amused by it. I entered into the contract to save my little sister and her husband, though after the first three months I found out that Asmodeus had already killed them off at some point. Even after having committed treason against **[Grauzauberer]** in order to protect them...I still ended up losing both my sister and one of my greatest friends." Erik spoke, genuine sadness permeating his tone as he clenched his fists.

Douglas merely raised an eyebrow, however.

"Why not ask for help?" Douglas asked simply, causing Erik to let out a single laugh.

"It doesn't work that way in the real world, Douglas. Without sufficient evidence, which I failed to acquire at the time, [Grauzauberer] would never have tried to work with me if it meant potentially going to war against the [Old Satan Faction], which Asmodeus was a significant person within. No, they would simply release me to struggle on my own. If that happened, then I'd lose all usefulness in the eyes of Asmodeus. And I couldn't allow that just yet." Erik rebuked, to which Douglas's eyes narrowed at the far more conspiratorial tone shift in Erik's voice.

"...shortly after I found out about my sister's death, I learned that they had extracted the baby from her womb. At that point, they were holding my niece captive. I've been keeping constant tabs on her. At first, Asmodeus played nice, even if he never let me see her in person. However, as time went on, her treatment became worse. Five years ago, I learned that she had begun to be abused daily by Asmodeus for his own entertainment. I'll spare you the details. You are but a child, and you shouldn't need to hear about any of that. When I found out the extent of the horrors she had been going through, I couldn't tolerate it anymore. That, is when I began my research that eventually led to me finding _you_." Erik continued telling his story in a somber tone.

Douglas simply stood there and drank it all in. Even though he had his doubts about this particular man in general due to what all he had been put through by him, he felt deep down that Erik was being entirely truthful about all of this.

 _'It didn't make any sense. When Ellen said that he had made a deal with a Devil for power and it had gone bad, it almost sounded like he had made a stupid deal to begin with. Magicians don't seem like the type to make stupid deals like that. Sorry, Ellen, but it sounded way too trivial when you said it._ This _, however, sounds like a reason to make an unfair deal.'_ Douglas thought to himself as he digested the story.

By this point, Erik was simply finishing up, though Douglas noticed some slight twitching of his fingers.

"In the real world, there is a crystal embedded into the side of your head. It is the container that is storing all of your [Spiritual Energy]. I plan to use it to _kill_ Creuserey Asmodeus and save my niece. Once she's saved, I'll ensure that she is taken care of and given the opportunity to live a happy life. Once I do those things, I will turn myself in without hesitation." Erik admitted, causing Douglas's eyes to widen and his jaw to drop.

"You'll...turn yourself in? After you get your _happily ever after_?" Douglas asked incredulously. Erik nodded gravely, his expression completely serious.

"Douglas. I've...I've done so many terrible things. My hands are stained with the blood of countless people, and I've potentially _ruined_ the life of a child. All of the suffering you've experienced in this place, and any suffering you endure in the real world...I _will always_ feel responsible for. I've betrayed my friends, and [Grauzauberer]. There is no questioning that I deserve to be put behind bars...or simply slaughtered outright. I accept that. However, I must ensure the safety and security of my niece...the only family I have left, before I can allow myself to be captured and be made to repent for my crimes." Erik confessed, his hand beginning to move a little bit more.

Douglas's face was then set in one of neutrality.

"So, _this_ must be the crystal..." Douglas remarked casually, referring to the sheet of blue crystal that was slowly climbing up the wall behind him without even looking at it. Erik's eyes shined with a dark red light for an instant.

"Now!" Erik shouted, whipping his hand forward, mentally commanding the six-foot squared sheet of crystal to spring forth and attempt to wrap around Douglas's form.

The young man, however, faded into thin air in an instant as the sheet of blue crystal quickly sealed itself into the shape of a ball in the middle of where he was.

Gritting his teeth, Erik's face slowly melted into a smile.

"I guess all of the hyper-focus that he's been through from the hypnosis has improved his _reaction time_ quite well." Erik muttered to himself, lowering his arms as a purple magic circle appeared underneath his feet.

If Erik had looked out the window, however, he would've seen a figure wearing a blue hoodie standing on a far-away tree limb suddenly vanish into thin air.

* * *

 **West Vancity Baptist Church**

Ellen liked to consider herself a patient woman. However, the precious few minutes where the young man known as Douglas was _not_ directly in front of her seemed to stretch on a tad longer than they should have.

Sitting in the middle of the desecrated church, Ellen played with the hem of her dress as a worried frown marred her face.

"Douglas...please return safely. I am meant to assist my hosts by making them _lucky_ , but that means nothing if you don't properly release me in the physical world. It has been a long time since I was last let out to play, and I am...rather hoping that you will allow me that." Ellen softly spoke a little prayer, even as she found a loose thread in the hem of her dress. Spinning it loosely around in her fingers, she deftly tied it into a small knot that seemed nearly invisible to any who were not explicitly searching for it.

"Depends on what you mean by _play_."

"Eep!?"

Suddenly hearing a familiar masculine voice speak up from behind her, Ellen flinched and jumped slightly from where she was sitting as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. However, once she registered who the voice belonged to, she smiled.

Craning her head back, she looked at Douglas who was standing not two feet behind her.

"By the gods, Douglas, you scared me~!" she chuckled playfully, to which Douglas raised an eyebrow.

"I only said to wait for a few minutes. I was just asking Erik some stuff. You know, until he tried to capture me again." Douglas remarked casually, though Ellen's eyes widened at his final statement.

"He tried to capture you again? What happened?" she asked, to which Douglas shrugged his shoulders.

" _He_ _tried to capture me_. Not sure what else I can say about it." Douglas commented, his tone somewhat nonchalant. Ellen sighed slightly at the answer, but stood back up nevertheless.

Turning around, she gave Doug a slightly cross expression.

"Do you know how _dangerous_ that was?" Ellen asked.

"What? Talking to him?" Douglas responded, causing Ellen's eyes to narrow as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Going there in person. If you were captured, then he would have undone everything we have been working towards." Ellen replied, a slight hint of anger entering her tone. Douglas merely rolled his eyes.

"He wasn't going to capture me. I may be an idiot, Ellen, but I'm not _that_ stupid." Douglas spoke, his voice raising in volume as he defended his actions. Ellen raised an eyebrow with even more of her frustration showing on her face.

"What would make you say that? What was your plan to _not get captured_?" she pressed. Douglas just sighed.

"Look, he was inside the living room of my house. My fake mother isn't around anymore, so I assume he did something with her. Not like that really matters right now, but whatever. Anyways, I sent in a duplicate to talk to him, so that even if he _did_ try something, he'd be doing it on a fake." Douglas explained, causing Ellen's expression to soften as she seemed surprised.

"So long as I can imagine it, I can do it, right? Why not be omnipresent?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders helplessly.

A moment of silence settled between Douglas and Ellen, before the white-haired female sighed and looked up at the night sky where the full moon was still rising.

"Very well, Douglas. If you had truly thought that far ahead, then I apologize for any insinuations I have made. However, just know that arbitrarily making these decisions...it can lead to accusations like this. I was worried that my host would get himself into even more trouble than he is already in. What is important, though, is that you are back. Are you ready to proceed with the plan to secure your freedom, or do you wish to do anything else?" Ellen spoke, her tone begrudging and almost a little embarrassed.

"Not just yet. You can communicate with those Magicians, right? Please ask who _Sabrina Raiken_ is." Douglas requested, though Ellen's eyes only widened in confusion.

"...Sure...but, who is that?" Ellen asked in turn, only to be met with a dull glare from the boy.

"Erik Raiken's little sister, supposedly. He told me his side of things, and I want answers." Douglas replied. Ellen merely frowned and nodded.

"You believe the Magicians on the outside are either misinformed or not being entirely truthful?" she asked curiously. Douglas crossed his arms over his chest once again.

"He knows he's in a tight spot. It just seems a little fishy. If all he's after is power, then why bother putting himself at the top of [Grauzauberer]'s shit-list? Why piss people off by going after a kid?" Douglas reasoned, to which Ellen nodded.

"Very well..." she replied, closing her eyes and focusing.

* * *

 **Real World**

"...Erik Raiken indeed had a little sister named Sabrina. She was four years younger than him, and was rather talented with [Divination Magic]. She was unfortunately found dead in a hotel room thirteen years ago while on a vacation with her husband. I'm not sure why Erik would bring her up, though." the woman in black robes explained her answer to Ellen's sudden query.

Waiting a moment for the reply, Ellen eventually spoke as the golden veins of light were once again seen coursing through the skin of the young man's forearm.

{He says that Erik Raiken is claiming that the Devil he's contracted with used her and her husband as hostages to ensure his loyalty. Then, they were killed and Sabrina's surgically removed baby was then used as the hostage. He...He also says that Erik is claiming that the Devil he's contracted to is _Creuserey Asmodeus_...} Ellen spoke, causing the woman's eyes to widen at the name of the Devil.

However, they didn't stay widened for very long as they soon narrowed into a dark glare.

"If that's true...then Erik sold out information on [Grauzauberer] to the [Old Satan Faction]. What _else_ is Erik Raiken confessing to?" the woman asked nearly through gritted teeth.

{I thought you said that the Devil Erik was contracted to was from the nearly-extinct Valefor Clan.} Ellen remarked. The woman's frown deepened.

"He has shown to have had dealings with the Valefor's brat, but Erik wouldn't be so stupid as to up the ante by lying and claiming his real contractor was Creuserey. There's treason that doesn't amount to much in the long run, and then there's treason that _does_." the woman explained uneasily.

{...Douglas says that Erik claims to only want to kill Creuserey and secure his niece. Once he has made sure that she is going to be taken care of, he swears that he will turn himself in to your organization.} Ellen relayed. The woman almost scoffed at the amount of faith such a statement would expect from everyone else involved.

 _'Yes, I'm sure he would've tried such pleading with Douglas. I can't say that I wouldn't be tempted to do any differently if I was in his situation, but this isn't about what I would do. Erik went after Douglas, and_ that _is unforgivable...but, I can't deny...the thought of allowing Sabrina's little girl to be at the mercy of Creuserey Asmodeus, the descendant of the Prince of Lust who is infamous for his sadistic tendencies towards children and Humans is...more than a little unsettling. And, by far, the one who would have the most information about Creuserey would be Erik...'_ the woman thought to herself, a nagging feeling like a small splinter poking in the side of her mind appearing at the mental images she began seeing.

Making a split-second decision, the woman swallowed harshly before speaking to Ellen once more.

"Tell Douglas to send Erik a message by some indirect means. I don't want to hear about Douglas going off and talking with him face-to-face on his own anymore. Here is the message: If you're being sincere, then give up without any resistance and leave Douglas Roland's mindscape immediately. Tell him that Archmage Evangelina is _personally_ _guaranteeing_ that he will remain unharmed during capture if he cooperates properly." the woman spoke, almost _smelling_ the bile rise up to her throat at the promise she was making with such words.

Whilst she was focused on speaking with Ellen over this matter, however, she wasn't looking at the other side of the room where all of the Magicians were slowly and quietly reaching into the pockets of their lab coats. One of them pushed a button on the console near the giant TV screen that made the green transparent glass between them and the woman in black robes disappear.

* * *

 **West Vancity Baptist Church**

"...Douglas?" Ellen spoke, seeing the dumbfounded expression on the blond's face after she relayed the message given to her.

 _'Evangelina...? Who is that...and why does that name sound_ so _familiar?'_ Douglas thought to himself, the amount of confusion he felt becoming almost nauseating.

"Douglas?" Ellen tried again, noticing his eyelids begin to flutter as he fell back.

However, just before the young man completely lost his balance and fell over, his eyes shot wide open and he pushed the feeling back down.

"Whoa!?" Douglas hollered, shifting one of his feet back to steady himself and regain his balance.

After a moment of Douglas righting himself, the both of them calmed down.

"What happened there?" Ellen asked worriedly. Douglas merely shook his head as he rapidly blinked his eyes due to them being slightly blurry and feeling mildly wet.

"Not...I'm not sure. I heard the name _Evangelina_...and thhen I shust..." Douglas spoke, his speech becoming slurred as he continued talking.

Grabbing onto one of his arms tightly, Ellen acted as a support for the young man who was displaying signs of potentially passing out once again.

"Easy. Just, take it easy. Let us _sit_ _down_ and discuss this, shall we?" she offered, to which Douglas nodded wholeheartedly.

"Yeah. Let's...let's do _that_." he swallowed loudly before finishing his sentence.

And so, the two of them sat down on the floor of the church, with Ellen assisting Douglas until she was sure he wouldn't pass out once again.

"It is strange, though. For you to nearly pass out at the mere mention of _your mother's name_." Ellen remarked, rubbing the young man's left shoulder soothingly.

However, instead of calming down, Douglas felt as if every muscle in his body gave a single simultaneous spasm at what she said.

"My... _what_?" Douglas spoke disbelievingly. Ellen merely raised an eyebrow.

But, though she _did_ open her mouth to repeat herself, it was another voice that answered the young man's query.

"I believe the lovely maiden said that it was your mother's name." another male voice spoke up from the former entrance to the church.

Looking over, the two of them saw a man in his thirties with black hair and scarlet-red eyes standing there in a suit.

"I've decided to come to the table to negotiate...if the deal you just offered is still good." Erik Raiken spoke amiably, a gentle smile on his face as he pushed his glasses up firmly onto his face with one of his gloved hands.

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I don't really have much to say, besides apologizing again for the long wait. I promise the next Chapter won't take as long, since I'm getting back into the groove of writing once again.**

 **Same drill as before. If you want to leave a Review, just look a little bit South of this here note. Also, if you haven't voted yet, there's a fun little poll on my profile concerning the amount of harem members (or lack thereof) you think Douglas Roland should have. Again, it's for fun, but I will take the opinions given to me into consideration.**

 **As always, thank you for reading and I hope you stay tuned for the next Chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yep. I'm back.**

 **I would use this time to talk about myself like some arrogant prick. However, since I know you only come here to read the story, go ahead.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this new chapter!**

* * *

 **Also, I finally got myself a Beta-Reader: _Yamato Minamoto_**

* * *

 **Guide to Reading this Story:**

"Words." - Talking. Anything in _italics_ is stressed and/or important. If, for some reason, I mistakenly use emboldening on a word in this fashion again, please leave a Review telling me. I'm so used to it from my last story that it might slip through, and I'm genuinely trying to proofread these damn things.

 _'Stuff.'_ \- Thinking. I'll be using apostrophe marks to enclose them, and so like with the bold words whilst talking, please tell me if I mistakenly use quotation marks again.

Everything else. - Descriptions.

*sounds* - Shorthand descriptions of sound that I needlessly still explain in more detail anyways, because I'm a B-Grade author of amateur fiction.

[Terms] – DxD-related terms and titles and really just that odd shit that isn't normally used in conversation.

{Words} – Disembodied voices of all shapes and sizes.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – The Date of Change (Pt. 4)**

* * *

 **Real World**

As they slipped their hands out of their lab coat pockets, the group of Magicians on the opposite side of the room from Evangelina and Douglas procured a variety of gemstones that glittered in multiple different colors from the confines of their garments.

In unison, they all pointed the gems towards the young man laying on the hospital bed. They all then looked towards one of the Magicians in the center who was a male in his thirties who sported a head of light orange hair and deep green eyes. Out of thin air, a triple-layer yellow magic circle appeared next to his head.

 _'We only have one shot at this! Finally, the [Duchess of Magic]_ _will fall to the will of [Nilrem]! Aim for the crystal with everything you've got!'_ the Magician telepathically commanded to the rest of the group.

And with that command, an array of magic circles whose colors corresponded with the respective color of each gemstone held by each Magician appeared in front of their hands.

*Zzzt*

With the hissing sound, the automatic sliding door connecting the room to the outside world opened quickly. However, none of the Magicians were able to pay much mind to it as they were too focused on activating their Magic that they had just finished preparing.

In a split-second, dozens of ribbons of light shot out of each of the magic circles before arcing and dancing through the air as they streaked towards the crystal attached to the side of the unconscious blond's head.

However, the Magicians didn't have any time to react before two different shapes zipped inside of the room.

One of them, a humanoid-shaped blur of black, rushed in front of the ribbons of light that were flying towards the boy. Once it was in between them and the boy, the shape seemed to grow almost grotesquely as a dozen limbs of black shot out in various directions, blocking and smacking away the various ribbons of magical light in a precise and efficient manner.

The other shape, this one emitting a harsh white light from the entirety of its form, seemed to be a seven-foot tall humanoid-shaped suit of armor. The armor rushed at each of the Magicians from their blind spots, slamming its fists or legs into their bodies. This elicited several cracking sounds as their bones were shattered in an instant.

Within a few seconds, most of the Magicians fell over onto the ground. Those that did were unconscious, leaving only the orange-haired one standing.

Glancing to his left and right in a panic as he saw his comrades fall to the ground for some reason he couldn't deduce, he failed to react when a hand covered by a _clawed gauntlet_ grabbed him harshly by his throat. Without even seeing who had done so, he suddenly found himself shoved up against a wall in such a way to where his feet couldn't touch the floor.

Dangling there, the man began to choke as he finally basked in the visage of his attacker.

Gazing upon the shimmering white armor standing at 7' tall that possessed the motif of a _Dragon_ and a pair of translucent _blue wings of light_ attached to the back of it by a few bony white limbs, the Magician's expression turned to one of fear at the sight of a pair of _shining golden eyes_ staring him down without even a hint of mercy to be found in either of them.

Evangelina casually looked over her shoulder at the sound that all of the commotion had caused, only to see a _wall of black feathers_ attached to the back of a man in a casual suit whose full head of black hair was only off-set by the golden blond bangs he possessed. With a goatee of similar black hair and a pair of purple eyes, the slightly tanned male smirked at the black-haired woman in a friendly manner.

"The kid still doing all right, Eva?" the man asked in a relaxed voice, to which the woman merely smiled.

"Yes, though it seems like the plan may be changing. Thank you for taking care of those traitorous brats, Azazel. I knew [Nilrem] would never allow me to freely help my son without having to worry about an assassination attempt." Evangelina responded, though her tone sounded slightly irritated near the end.

However, before the two of them could continue their conversation, a choked scream could be heard from the other side of the room.

"He-...Hel-kh...Help M-hngh!" the orange-haired Magician cried out as the white-armored individual continued to choke him as it effortlessly held him up against the wall.

Turning to each other once again, the man known as Azazel and Evangelina seemed to have a silent conversation for a moment.

Sighing somewhat with a casual smirk on his face, Azazel allowed the twelve black wings that had served as a shield for the woman and her son to fold inwards until, as if by Magic, they slipped cleanly inside of his back, leaving only a pristine black blazer jacket behind in its wake.

"Vali, just knock the pitiful fool out. We can let [Grauzauberer] handle him and his friends. After all, if the kid happens to wake up once we take care of business, do we really want a bloody murder scene to be the first thing he sees?" Azazel remarked thoughtfully.

The orange-haired man, who was panicking on the inside, watched as the white helmet tilted to the side as if to acknowledge that it had heard what the man had said, before straightening itself out again.

Releasing its clawed grip on the orange-haired man's throat, the armored individual allowed him to fall towards the ground...before that same clawed hand came down in a merciless chop that landed cleanly on the back of the Magician's neck.

With his knees buckling underneath him, the orange-haired man fell face first onto the ground, unconscious.

Looking around and seeing all of the seemingly lifeless Magicians laying on the ground, the armored individual seemed to shine even brighter for a brief second before the light died off.

Standing there, being a good foot and a half shorter than the white armor, was a young man. His dark silver hair was of medium-length. His blue eyes, having formerly been narrowed in anger, slowly relaxed themselves into merely looking dissatisfied. His attire consisted of a black jacket over a blue t-shirt, with a pair of black skinny jeans and black combat boots.

Turning around, the young man walked over to stand on the opposite side of the bed from Evangelina.

"I suppose not. Hello, Miss Eva." Vali replied, before respectfully greeting the woman who smiled kindly towards him.

"Hello, Vali. Thank you for helping as well. Don't worry about those idiots. I'll send a message for a team to come and apprehend them." she responded, to which the young man just smiled and nodded.

"It's no problem. Though, I have to ask...before, you said that the plan might have changed. What do you mean by that? Did something happen with _him_?" Vali asked, pointedly glancing at the unconscious blond that he had just helped to protect.

Evangelina's eyes narrowed as she too turned to look at the comatose teen.

"Well, that's what I was in the middle of figuring out. You see..." Evangelina remarked, before explaining the situation to the two males who stepped forward to stand on the opposite side of the bed from her.

* * *

 **West Vancity Baptist Church**

"So...you'll leave my mindscape and remove the crystal from the side of my head, and in exchange you'll be taken in, an investigation will be done to verify your story, and then you go off and kill Asmodeus. Then, once you get your niece back and set her up to live a happy life, you turn yourself back in?" Douglas asked, attempting to sum up the negotiation terms that Erik had proposed, to which Erik nodded.

"That is the main gist of the deal I am proposing, yes. I will also release control over your energy channels, as well as remove the seal on your memories, though it would probably be best if we wait for a while before doing the latter. I imagine your mind has been heavily stressed for a while now. You could most likely use a good rest." Erik spoke in turn, a hint of concern entering his voice.

Ellen merely grasped Douglas's arm with her own in a comforting gesture. In a very quiet voice, so that Erik wouldn't hear, she spoke to him.

"Erik is right. Even if you do not immediately feel the effects, the counter-spell was an intense experience for you. Once we are done here, you will need to recover properly." Ellen whispered worriedly to him. Douglas just sighed.

"Believe me, Ellen. I'm freaking exhausted." Douglas replied honestly, his voice sounding drained.

Ellen just stared at him worriedly for a moment before nodding.

"Okay then. I shall ask Evangelina about the terms we have discussed just to make absolutely sure everything is acceptable, and that nothing was said only in the spur of the moment." Ellen spoke, before closing her eyes and concentrating.

After about a minute, she received her answer.

"Those terms are acceptable, Erik Raiken." Ellen relayed the answer to the two of them, both males nodding. Douglas's head then began to droop forward a little bit, an expression of exhaustion appearing on his face.

Erik then held up both of his arms parallel to the ground, summoning a purple-colored magic circle underneath his feet.

"Very well. It will take me a few minutes in order to get everything done. Douglas!" Erik commented, before calling out the young man's name.

Douglas, lifting his head, stared at Erik with a pair of dull, tired-looking sapphires.

"If you wake up before the seal on your memories is released, you should listen and trust in your mother. She is well-known for her kindness as well as being honorable to a fault." Erik advised, to which the blond simply nodded tiredly in reply.

* * *

 **Real World**

 **A few minutes later...**

After a team of Magicians had arrived and detained the unconscious traitors that littered one side of the room with handcuffs that had runic glyphs inscribed into the metal, a large purple-colored magic circle teleported all of them away, leaving only Evangelina, Azazel and Vali in the room with the unconscious blond.

Floating on the side of the teenager's head opposite from the spike of crystal, was a purple-colored magic circle that began to glow stronger as the moments passed.

"I...can't really believe that you accepted the idea of negotiating with him so easily, Ms. Eva. He attacked your son..." Vali commented, his disbelief written all over his face as he stared at the magic circle with narrowed eyes.

Evangelina just let out an irritated sigh.

"If Douglas had not been so keen on the idea, we would have definitely used force to handle Erik. That is what we were preparing for. Besides, this way, we don't have to put Douglas in harm's way. I also...find myself becoming keenly interested in Erik's story as well." Evangelina explained herself, though even she felt a small twinge of uneasiness about the idea of negotiating with the man in question.

 _'Besides, I don't think I'd be able to handle disappointing Douglas by allowing my anger to get the better of me when he is most likely trying very hard to not let his own do the same to him.'_ Evangelina continued in her thoughts, a clear mental picture of her son's disapproving expression nearly making her recoil.

As she thought this, the magic circle floating next to her son's head suddenly began to shine brightly. Then, small particles of purplish magical energy began to leak from the circle. The particles began to gather together in the shape of a sphere between the wall and Evangelina, whose expression turned steely as she prepared herself to handle any potential problems that might crop up.

After a few seconds of this happening, the magic circle floating near the blond's head disappeared. The final particles of light converged on the orb of amethyst light that was now approximately three feet in diameter.

Once the orb was complete, it began to bend and stretch itself out into the shape of a humanoid male. After it had done so, it gave a single flash of bright light before disappearing, leaving Erik Raiken standing there with his eyes closed, looking just as he did inside Douglas's mindscape.

Without opening his eyes, Erik broke the near deafening silence that permeated the room by speaking to the small group of people who were staring at him intensely.

"...it's been a long time since I've felt so much killing intent. It feels like I'll be slaughtered the exact instant that I so much as sneeze." he muttered, every single hair on his body standing on end as he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at them.

Even though he fully expected to be under the crushing weight of a mother's spiteful glare, he wasn't expecting to see either of the males there, both of whom were also glaring at him...

 _'That...that's Azazel...the Governor General of the Fallen Angels...'_

...however, despite feeling shocked at seeing such a high-ranking person standing there at the end of the bed that Douglas's unconscious body was laid on, his full attention was quickly drawn towards the dark silver-haired teenager standing on the other side of the bed from him whose blue eyes were seemingly filled with far more hatred and malice than the two adults combined.

 _'I...I've seen Douglas interact with a silver-haired boy a few times back when I was conducting research on potential targets. I suppose this must be that boy.'_ Erik thought, a few beads of sweat forming on his brow as he and the silver-haired teenager locked eyes for a moment.

However, Azazel quickly cleared his throat.

"Not that watching you get stared down by a teenager isn't absolutely _riveting_ or anything, but I believe you have a deal to honor, Mr. Raiken. Get on it." the Governor spoke, putting his hands on his waist as he kept a sharp glare trained on Erik.

The black-haired man merely shook his head slightly to break eye contact with the teenager, before looking to Azazel and bowing his head slightly. Glancing at Evangelina, he _slowly_ walked around the group in as non-threatening of a manner as he could.

Though, he did have to admit that the way the turned their entire heads to follow his movements definitely sent shivers up his spine.

Circling around the bed, he kept an even wider berth when nearing the silver-haired teenager, if only because he felt like the chances of the young man honoring the deal were less favorable than those of the adults.

Eventually coming around to stand near the side of Douglas's head where the crystal was jutting out of, Erik swallowed a large wad of spit that had been accumulating in his mouth.

Reaching out, he held a hand over the crystal. A blue-colored magic circle appeared between his hand and the crystal, before the circle seemed to split into two circles. And then it split again into four.

Splitting once more, there were now eight blue-colored magic circles, with lines of runic characters inlaid into each of them, layered over one another between Erik's hand and the crystal. At that point, the circles began to rotate independently of one another until a string of runic characters on each of them lined up. The characters then turned golden as the circles then began to spin around until another string of characters lined up.

This process repeated over and over very quickly, and within seconds over two dozen runic characters had changed from blue to gold in color.

"A [Veratrice Lock]." Evangelina remarked, immediately identifying the technique Erik was working with. The black-haired man nodded.

"I knew encryption and seals would be meaningless against someone like you. Thus, I needed something that wouldn't allow for any kind of tampering whatsoever to be allowed. If you input the wrong combination even once, nullify the magical energy sustaining it, or try to remove it by force, the crystal would explode. The only downside to using a [Veratrice Lock] is that it takes exponentially longer to set up, and requires constant maintenance. That, and if the one who creates it forgets the combination..." Erik explained in an effort to keep the room from becoming awkwardly silent, as well as to relieve his nerves that are being fried by the constant glaring he was being subjected to.

"How was the kid, Erik?" Azazel asked as the man trailed off, seemingly realizing that nobody in the group really appreciated the explanation or the incredibly pathetic attempt at forced humor. Taking a deep shaky breath, Erik did his best to calm himself.

"He seemed thoroughly exhausted. He acted amicable, but...well, I can't imagine he wasn't pained by everything that happened." Erik confessed, _feeling_ the malice in their glares increase with his admission.

 _'They finally have me out of him, though. Even if I didn't have any other choice in order to get out of this situation alive with the crystal intact, I...really can't expect anything other than this.'_ Erik thought to himself somberly, focusing on his work.

After about thirty more seconds, the last line of blue runic characters in the magic circles changed color to gold. Then, all of the circles converged onto each other, forming back into one. The circle then slowly descended over the crystal, phasing through it until it came to the pale skin of the unconscious teenager's head. Shrinking, the magic circle framed itself around the base of the crystal.

Reaching out with both of his hands, Erik firmly grasped the crystal and gave it a gentle tug. As he pulled on it, everyone watched as the crystal popped off of Douglas's head cleanly and safely.

Once she saw this, Evangelina released a small breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding in.

Turning to her with the spike of crystal in his hands, he held it out to her.

"As promised, I shall turn this over to you. It can still explode if it is knocked around hard enough. And with so much concentrated energy..." Erik remarked.

Evangelina reached out and took the crystal from Erik's hands, shortly before a purple-colored magic circle about a foot in diameter appeared in the air next to her. She pushed the crystal into the circle, to which the crystal disappeared from the physical realm.

"The advice is noted, Raiken. However, I am _quite_ experienced when it comes to _energy_." Evangelina replied, a tone of confidence permeating her voice.

Erik simply nodded.

"Of course, Archmage Evangelina. The only thing left to do is release the seal on his memories...but as I said earlier, he is thoroughly exhausted. I'll defer to you as to whether or not you wish to release that now or later on. Honestly, if you choose the latter, I doubt you would even need my help for such a simple seal. However, I'd be more than willing to do so if you wish it." Erik respectfully asked, to which Evangelina crossed her arms underneath her chest.

"I shall attend to that personally. For now..." Evangelina pointedly nodded her head towards her left.

Looking in that direction, Erik saw a voluptuous young woman of European descent who was about 5'7'' standing in the middle of the doorway to the room, wearing white-colored Magician robes that had accents of black and blue laced throughout it. Her long, silky golden hair fell down to her waist and her deep blue eyes shimmered in the light of the room.

As the blonde-haired woman stared at the group from the doorway, she noted the dark silver-haired young man staring angrily at the black-haired Magician who had noticed her. Turning her gaze slightly, she looked to Evangelina who turned her head towards her.

"Mistress, you called for me?" the young woman asked, to which Evangelina nodded.

"Lavinia, I need you to take Erik Raiken into custody. I'd ask Vali, but I honestly think he's more likely to murder him along the way rather than actually lock him up." Evangelina ordered, causing the young woman known as Lavinia glanced to the dark silver-haired teenager who looked to her before huffing and looking away.

"She's not wrong." Vali commented without even a trace of denial in his voice.

"Well, at least you're honest, Vali. Very well." Lavinia remarked with a slight hint of exasperation in her tone before she obediently responded to Evangelina, walking into the room whilst training her eyes onto Erik in a professional manner.

Seeing this, Erik merely raised his hands up in surrender before interlocking his fingers behind his head. He then walked around Vali again, approaching Lavinia who created a purple-colored magic circle underneath the two of them, shortly before they both vanished from the room in a flash of light.

"Well, I guess the only thing left to do is wait for the kid to wake up, huh?" Azazel asked, turning to Evangelina with a raised eyebrow. The woman nodded, turning back to the unconscious blond who was still laying in bed and not showing a single hint of waking up.

"Yes. He's been through hell, and I think allowing him all the time he could ever want or need to recover is perfectly reasonable." she spoke, walking forward until she stood near the head of the bed.

Reaching out, she softly stroked the unkempt mane of her son's hair, just as she has done hundreds of times over the past five years...

* * *

 **West Vancity Baptist Church**

On the ruined floor of the desecrated church, Douglas and Ellen sat together in silence. The young man was currently looking up at the night sky, filled with the twinkling light of a thousand stars, as well as the luminescent glow of the Moon.

However, the silence was abruptly broken when the blond closed his eyes and released a massive sigh.

"Ellen...I can tell by the way you're staring at me that you _really_ want to ask a question." Douglas spoke up, breaking the nerve-wracking quiet that had settled over the two after Erik had left.

Ellen, true to Douglas's comment, had spent most of that time gazing deeply at her partner's face. Douglas only managed to notice it after the first minute due to the fact that so many other things were going on at the moment.

"...what made you want to negotiate with Erik?" Ellen asked after being prompted by Douglas.

The blond simply opened his eyes and turned to face her.

"I told you. This was the faste-..." he began to answer, before Ellen cut him off with a clearly unconvinced expression plastered across her delicate features.

"Douglas. Please."

"..." Douglas retreated back into silence as he stared at the incredibly kind, if not impossibly perceptive, emerald green orbs belonging to the woman who was basically the key factor in him finally regaining his freedom.

Glancing away awkwardly, Douglas tried to wet his throat by swallowing.

"...force and violence are... _really_ _good_ for solving certain problems. Sometimes, though, a better solution is to persuade people with words." Douglas tried to explain, though Ellen only raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Is it because of your father?" she asked, not even blinking twice at what she said.

Douglas did, though. The sheer suddenness of the much more personal question nearly caused him to pull away from her in shock.

"...what?" Douglas muttered with a surprised face. Ellen merely sidled up closer to his side before wrapping her arms around him.

"You were forced into doing something that would traumatize most people, and then you suddenly make an almost insane decision to negotiate with the man who caused you so much suffering and pain. I am almost certain that those two things are not entirely unrelated." she reasoned, tightening her grip on her partner who simply sat there, stunned.

Keeping quiet for a moment, Douglas tried to organize his thoughts. However, the mental fatigue he was experiencing proved to make such an endeavor far too difficult. Simply because, instead of thinking thoughts about how him effectively murdering his mentally-constructed father was somehow a factor in him deciding to persuade Erik to leave, the only understandable thoughts that passed through his head...

...were how _soft_ and _warm_ Ellen's hug was...and just how _tired_ he felt.

Feeling the young man begin to relax in her hold, Ellen smiled an incredibly gentle smile.

"Not only that, but the mental exhaustion you felt must have played a role as well. I bet you would love nothing more than to sleep on the biggest and fluffiest bed you can think of." Ellen whispered suggestively into Douglas's ear as the young man's eyes drooped tiredly.

"But...they haven't told us if everything is okay or not." Douglas replied, even as he strangely felt the hard wooden floor beneath him be replaced by the pillowy sensation of a luxurious bed. He felt Ellen's hand reach up behind his head before proceeding to stroke it lightly.

...and...for some reason, he also felt a faint tickling on the front side of his head as if a phantom hand began to stroke it.

"I just received word, Douglas. Everything is just fine. Erik has been taken care of, the crystal is gone...and you are completely safe under the watchful eye of a loving mother." Ellen informed him, leaning back and dragging him with her until they were both laying on the bed together.

However, instead of landing completely on the bed, Douglas's head was rested on the voluptuous bosom of the white-haired woman, who was still gently caressing it as if trying to coax a scared animal into relaxing.

"You are the host of the [Vivus Codex], Douglas. I shall always be with you. And if the only thing I can do to help my host is draw his eyes shut so he may sleep, then that is what I shall do. Sweet dreams, my [Prince of...]."

As Ellen continued talking, Douglas's eyes closed in his mindscape. He could have sworn she said something about a _prince_ , but his mind was too far gone to notice.

However, he would always feel like that was the best sleep he had ever experienced in his life.

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey, guess what?**

 **The First Arc is basically done!**

 **Like always, there's a space below here for Reviews and such. If you haven't checked it out yet, there's also a poll in my profile concerning the number of potential love interests for our tuckered out Protagonist-kun.**

 **Take care, and be happy!**

 **Sincerely,**

 **The Author who, everyone is probably guessing, is most likely about to try REAL HARD to make up for what he did to a certain blonde-haired girl in his original story.**


	5. Re-Write Notice

**I don't want to waste anyone's time more than I already am, so I'll try not to rant too much.**

 **I'm having a significant amount of trouble writing this story while trying to include the Gamer ability and make it feel like it's not entirely useless. The main appeal of the Gamer ability is that it takes someone who doesn't have any special characteristics or abilities and makes them into a pseudo-god. This story doesn't seem to be able to benefit from that since my main character doesn't fit that description.**

 **I've also become quite busy in real life. I am going to keep writing, however I will mostly be treating it as a hobby. I'll try to not mess up as badly as I did with my original story, but I won't exactly put a large amount of effort into planning or anything like that.**

 **I might decide to re-do this story without the Gamer ability, or go back and do a re-write of my original story. I'll put up a poll in my profile so that I can get a feel for the crowd. I may claim that I write for fun, but a lot of the fun is knowing you people are enjoying it.**

 **If you guys only care for the Gamer ability, then I'll feel inclined to write that kind of story. That's fine, though, since I had quite a bit of fun writing my original story. If not, then I'll just redo this one and be able to move forward without the added stress of cramming the Gamer ability where it doesn't belong.**

 **I'd also understand if you people told me to shove it and refused to ever click on any of my stories ever again. It gets very frustrating when a writer on this site does these kinds of things. Even more so if it happens on every single story they write.**

 **Finally, I'm incredibly sorry for not updating in so long, but I've legitimately tried to work the Gamer ability into this story several times. Like I said, though, it's just not working out for me.**

 **Thank you so much for reading, and I hope all of you have a fantastic weekend!**


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